August 29,1999 - Sunday morning - Happy Birthday to Linda - she's off the roading program this morning to celebrate - oh-oh , we got rain. Lee's been loading up since 3:45 and got his gear loaded and out the door - wants to get home at a reasonable time - He's got a full day and about the time he pulls out - here comes the rain - drizzle for an hour or so and then wham - a real good downpour. Everyone just sleeps in to 7:00 or so and the we start to get it together. We give Ron Talmage a call, he's due in this morning and tell him the road might not be fit for a rental car so we plan on meeting him for the ride in - good thing to, the road was like a grease pit - good thing Lee & Denise got out when they did. We got the team rolling and went to the hills. Hills: Rita & Jill - nice cool morning for these two - cut them loose and both worked the front wide and reaching forward - pretty race w/ Jill the faster but Rita still getting the job done - Point for Rita at 11 and a very well located covey of chickens properly handled w/good style and manners - onward we went w/Jill getting into trouble up on a hill on a covey - just geezeled the covey - Karen & Alex corrected - she's back and running and the race went on - good solid forward hunting for Rita - a couple of turtles scooped up along the way, she drops and onward, Jill w/a solid point and a long ride for a turtle find. Rita v/wide and Bonnie had to collect her up to get around pond and she comes - reaches front and Karen calls point for her as Jill comes into the area and knocks the covey w/Rita standing -very good style. One bird appears crippled and they put Jill on a cord and try and work her but never get it pointed - Rita to the truck and she leaves the area going on - not ready to quit - 46 min - 40-50 chickens - an extra 10 for Rita - determined to go the hour. She'll be tough to beat today. Cali & Dolly - rock and roll time - tried to take it easy but 2 moves Dolly was leaving the country - 2 hills away and flying - Dennis tried to turn and he saw her chasing a dove - hit her w/the collar and she ran through it - need a bigger plug - Cali plenty big and flying - taken into general area where birds left, she crossed the hill and pointed v/nicely - great manners and style for flush and shot - sent on, she was really doing a good job covering the hills and going front. In the meantime, Dennis and I had the task of catching up w/Dolly and having a discussion w/her - got control of the situation and had her under our thumb, hunting the rest of the way around - not real pretty but she got the picture. The report on Cali was another classy find and a well handled STF - that Bonnie whistled her in on the birds and a very good race - she was DOD -- moved Rita to runner up - good job - she's definitely putting it together. Flats: Glory & Kelsey - worked these 2 together w/Kelsey looking v/good on the flats, only a NP but a solid race - hitting the objectives and no puttering - getting somewhere. Glory showed good range but still prone to hunt the open fields and not objective orientated - tried to get her to back Kelsey but had to work her under control on the situation. Clancey & Riley - Clancey v/aware of the bitches in season in camp and lots of marking - finally got him going and he reached fairly well-Riley handled well and did a good job of hunting the objectives and going front. Got around to the last line and Clancey did his annual split the season( wonder where Roxie gets this) he bolted and just blinked us w/Bonnie riding long and hard to collect him, we had a little talk. Sunny & Bill - Sunny, big improvement over yesterday w/good hunt and range - flash pointed and took a single for a ride - Bill being worked on NP's ended up w/a good piece after Dennis moved him on some - needs some more work. Birdwork: Brea & Bell- Dennis and Bonnie worked them in the horse pen and had a big covey of chukker find w/Brea and also a covey of quail. New spot for birdwork. Riley - worked in the pen but no birds. Mac - worked in the pen and had a very well done find on covey of chukkers. Bonnie and Dennis packed up and headed home planning on resuming the honeymoom next weekend at camp. Starting to dry out now - we went and got Ron's car moving and he worked on getting his new tack ready to use - Alex got the pigeon door done and we got chukker pepperkash going for dinner. Birdwork: Dusty - time to kick it up a notch - worked 2 by laying them down and flushing them - v/good - put a bird to sleep and let him point for the very 1st time - pointed hard w/level tail - styled up w/ Alex flushing - manners v/good - did a 2nd one and he got the idea of what we've been doing - no jump, leaps or nervousness - went to lead him off and 3 pigeons walking on the ground - he stopped and we flushed - perfect - nice job. FlashII - worked her around and got v/stylish point - killed bird and she stood for the shot and I brought the bird back to her - nice job - tons of class. JJ - dragging a cord - she worked around - bird had walked out and she got into the tall grass - and caught - ran around - we got her and checkcorded her in - got a point and flushed and took her on. Star - she ran , dragging the cord- v/nice point - steadied up - flush, kill and she got retrieve bringing it back to truck. Good job. Back to camp and a great, cool evening and a great birthday dinner for Linda's B-day -good day w/Ron enjoying his horses and being back in camp. August 30, 1999 - Monday morning- lower 60's and humid, cloudy and quite breezy - and camp a little smaller than last week w/Lee and Denise gone and a bunch less horses and dogs. Last full week of camp w/plenty to do. Roading: Clancey W.-Dolly- Mojo-Roxie--57 min Clancy N.-Lina-Jill-Cali--63 min Glory-Kelsey-Pal--37 min Hills: Lightning & Mac - ran them in the Richardson home pasture - hadn't been hit all summer - both fast and very snappy - yelled at Lightning early for hunting and chasing chinks than at the 8 min mark Lightning a v/borderline stf- scenting w/single going out 10 yds ahead and several steps than finally stopping as big covey flushed 50+ yds away w/Mac taking them for a ride. Corrected & scent on Lightning went right through covey at 14 min - wind at back but no attempt to really stop - big correction - Mac w/a little better han- dle and Lightning steadily downhill - more yelling and just going her way - just ended up putting the hook on her and roading her in- Mac pointed and handled nicely a small covey - but just a handly meet dog at that time - another covey ridden up -- 30-40 chickens at least. 34 min. Strong wind continued!!! Temperature nice but appears tough on the dogs - strange conditions. Clint & Flash II - Clint started nice as both dogs flowed mainly front - great eye appeal - couple loops from Flash but definite improvement in pattern - got them into water at 14 but both v/hot turned into the wind and ended up w/meat dogs - nothing much happening w/Flash II handling birds nicely but not course. No birdwork for Clint - a turtle point and a NP the best we could get- not his banner morning. Flats: - horse pen Sunny & JJ - walked them over to the corral and JJ attacked Sunny- put her away - Sunny hunted around pen - no birds today. Decided we had the manpower to do Donnie's fence - got over there and set up - wind blowing but we were going - spayed 8 gallons and the " Painter Triangle " struck again - machine went down - couldn't get it to pick up paint - loaded up and figured we were done for the trip - called the shop from town and dave had an idea - went to dog camp and took off the siphon tube and found a piece of branch stuck up there - we were fixed but the day was shot. Decided to kick back - did some work. Birdwork: Mojo- Ron's taking him home so we went out and hunted him around on some chukker and shot 2 w/great retrieves - he's just a good guy. Lina - worked her to see her retrieve and got great point w/good manners till shot and nice retrieve although a little hard mouth. went into woods and pointed another - great style - shot and missed but she couldn't see and went over and picked up the one we planted - not her fault. Riley - worked on a single w/very nice style and good manners for flush and shot. Jill - good point but broke on flush - corrected but her brain is only half operating - well into her season. Dusty - had a bird planted - on the checkcord w/spike collar - led him over and pointed w/great style - stroked him and let Alex flush - very nicely done - turned and walked him and threw 2 for stf - again he's with the program. Back to another planted and he got a little close but a gentle flush was handled w/good manners even if his style a little weak. Back to camp for a late dinner but a beautiful night - no complaints here. August 31, 1999 - Tuesday - a month in camp and some real good signs from the dogs - physically the roading program has done the job - they are fit but worn out - just where they should be now - 1 more real hard week than a maintanence conditioning program for the fall and they should all be able to handle the hour physically - mentally well that will come with maturity. Roading: Rita-Clint -- 58 min Lina-Bill -- 30 min. Flats: - more flats this week - working on pattern and birdwork polish- will save the hills for the final weekend. Lightning & Kelsey - wind is a blowin - put out birds - both had speed and drive to burn - solid gd-sd pattern digging the cover and mainly front- no puttering - no birds - overall good application w/lightning plugged in but not needed. 22 min. Dolly & Mac - wind is still with us and Dolly stayed with us - best course I've seen for Mac - v/nice moves, eye appeal and completion- Dolly big but handling and a nice job - tried to leave me one time - through the fence over 1 hill and up the next------oh, oh - I'm still attached and back she came but still reached and hunted - a stf on a quail that Mac had pointed in the woods w/a minor step but not bad - sent on toward camp and a nice point right near pick up w/2 well located quail - good style and perfect manners. Very good finish - 20 min. Roxie & Jill - Roxie gaining confidence - still likes the open field but now moves to objectives and hunts them for awhile before breaking off - considerable progress here - Jill a total airhead and not with it at all - did the Sidell loop and found Roxie standing w/low style - looking at 2 pigeons 30 feet away - Jill came in and wouldn't sight back, command back, or anything else finally flash pointed the pigeons and took them out like a puppy - Roxie stood for it all - very good job - Jill got the hook - Roxie finished the course was kind of run down at the end - 20 min - warm and quite windy. Alex took Alexandra for a ride in the meadow using Eb - a good experience for her while Ron & Karen took Sunny to the horse corral to hunt birds. Sunny - just a casual walk into the bird pen - she hunted but not too much happened - likes to go front and pretty moving. Decided to do the Valentine trip today after we took care of chores- got there early enough to give Young's some good business - Ron's liken his new horses and has them all saddled up and tacked out - we ordered new bits from Tennessee - a place Lee sent us the info on and all is just coming together. He's really enjoying the boys - Buddy & Jet. We hit Young's then had a real good dinner at the Peppermill - Karen treated and it was a fun time for all of us. Back to camp and early to bed. September 1, 1999 - Wednesday -- dawn was upon us and we were ready to go - a real early start this morning but the days are much shorter already and not even twilight - daylight to almost 6:30 - we loaded up and headed over to the S. pasture's - w/side near Hitchcock's. We had Linda road a brace early and we took one on the flats so she had a chance to hit the hills -she hasn't been on the hills all summer - too busy keeping the roading team in shape. She's done a bang up job getting the dogs fit!!!!! Roading: Clancy N. - Glory-Kelsey- Lightning-Jill- 61 min. Flats: Riley & Sunny - ran these 2 together and old Riley putting it toget- her w/nice moves and his hips feeling better - just did a nice job- pointed into the treeline as Sunny took out birds and had a ball - she's learning about edges - just hasn't flipped her switch yet - it will come - pays to be patient - Riley an overall good job. Hills: Clint & Mac - not one of Clint'sd better times down -saw 50+ birds on the way south but nothing on the brace - he started good - got hot and flakey and finished - better but not making big money -Mac had some really great early moves - got hot - took in water and had a very decent finish- these 2 young dogs have all the tools - we just have to remember their age. 3 turtles for Clint and a good lesson to boot. 51 min. Flash II & Cali - the best time down I've seen Flash - just mainly front w/a very stylish and broke fine on chickens - v/well done- flat in the middle- Cali - great find on turtles - the sandy koufax kind - next one she left before the wind up - then a mannerly find on chickens but lacked real style - good front moves , great speed and a sure sign she's ready to go to the next level - best brace of the day. 40+ min - 12 chickens. Alex, Ron & I went to Donnie's and pumped out 30+ gallons of white paint and finished up his fence. Looked really good - got the rent paid for the year- next year it's all the our place painting including the house. At least it's close to home. Birdwork: Mojo - Ron and I worked the boy - got nice points from him and v/ good retrieves - he just loves to hunt - tail up on the run and pointing - he's feeling good - Ron will have fun hunting this boy. Lina - just a nice point and v/good retrieve w/small correction to give up bird - a very nice job for her. Clint - short and to the point - v/stylish - good clean kill & stood to sent for perfect retrieve - good job for the young boy. Dusty - worked on couple stf - good job - let point one and had style - and manners - can't leave him yet but making real solid progress. We called it a night and the dove hunters came back - did great - Ron's leaving early morning and we're going to miss him but got him pretty well set up w/horses and a hunting dog - so he should be ready for the fall. A nice young female( sunny) making steady progress - she looks to be a keeper - hopefully a good showing in Booneville . September 2, 1999 - Thursday- Ron's on the way home - we're doing the flats this morning - camp is winding down and starting to look at things for next year. Alex plans on insulating the ceiling in the house tomorrow. Roading: Dolly- Clancy N - Rita- 61 min. -- girls are feeling good. Flats: Clancey W. & Sunny - around we went w/no birds but plenty of run on Clancey's part - good job for Sunny - just learning, -- Clancey came when I called at the end - had to think about it a little but did a good job. Glory & Riley - another good job for Riley - just hitting the cover nice - Glory , plenty of range but not staying in the objectives yet but doing a good job for a youngster. Kelsey & Roxie - really a real intelligent and driving time down for Kelsey - strong and looped the hayfield - a little tentative in the flats but overall good - Roxie had her barking shoes on today- not her best by any means- she's still made a lot of progress. Called it a day - the dove hunters hit it hard, and we all got ready for the Painter clan coming to dinner - had a great feast, fove appetivers, Dave's potatoes, Lee's ribs & grilled chicken w/fresh tomatoes from Mildred and a great desert. Just a real nice evening - coulda been better without the wind but still fun. Donnie really appreciated his fence being done - great friends her w/all the Painters - Donnie w/Marsha, Donita and Roger's clan w/Mildred and Gerald - great night. Storm rolling in tonight and supposed to cool off. September 3, 1999 - Friday - cool, quiet night -a plan to birddwork today but business came first - needed to get some health certs to ship a couple of dogs - rains rolled in , Alex and Karen insulated the roof, I did work, Linda did all the laundry in between raindrops than hit Basset to dry them - took the day off for the dogs, birds and horses. Got a lot of project finished and work accomplished during the rain - had a great chukker dinner w/Tammy Painter-her kids and husband and father-in-law coming over to visit - hunters dove hunted w/Devin, Amos and the crack shot Justin - all had a good day. We're awaiting Bonnie & Dennis plus Bob R. & Daniel due in tonight - still raining - kind of steady all day long - due to go west tomorrow w/ people in and out all weekend and the rodeo going on - should be fun.\ Almost the end of camp, I started booking business trips for the next few weeks - back at it I guess. Just lucky to be able to do this as much as I can -- what a great sport and what super friends we've made doing it. Lots of new people coming all the time and that's just good for the sport of field trialing and the future of our game.!!!!!!! ------------Well the rain started late in the afternoon, cloudy all day then a gentle drizzle, than a gulley washer - just poured - Bob called from Ainsworth at midnight and we told him to stay in town - roads very unsure, Dennis & Bonnie slid in a little while later and they said in the morning that it just wasn't a pretty ride - lots of rain, several wrecks and just a tough day to travel. Got real cool during the night and our trailer had no shortage of humidity - Linda washed clothes this morning and nothing dried - she went to Bassett to dry some of it , the rest was hanging in our trailer - and it was a very damp, rainy, lightning & windy night. September 4, 1999 - Saturday morning - no dawn, just a cloudy start to a rainy night - 2+inches last night, no one moving too fast this morning. Some loose horses around - we're waiting for Bobby & Daniel to make it to camp - got horses ready and we'll see what the weather does. The crew got them ready, Bob & Daniel are here so we run dogs - what a nice cool, overcast morning for dogs - really couldn't ask for anything better to run in. Roading: Roading is done for camp - Linda did the job with the dogs - they are fit, hard bodied - we'll now work on maintaining but everyone has remarked on how fit they are - just need to see how that transfers to the performance side of it. FLASH back in camp - good to see her- just miss the young girl but breeding her is far more important than running her so we sure hope she's with pups. Hills: Cali & Kelsey - Bob had Kelsey and Daniel in tow w/Bonnie here to run Cali - these 2 are sisters so it's fun to watch - Cali did a bang up job last weekend & Kelsey just ran a real nice race for Bob - her best of camp - no birds but solid, w/good speed and going front - her only hole is lack of class on the ground when she's going fast but overall a solid race, Cali not bad but not as good as last week or as Kelsey today - saw a few chickens but not w/the dogs - both shortened some the last few minutes w/wind in their face but still a good job. 36 min. - 4 or 5 chickens seen. Clancy N & Mac - Mac out of the box rockin & rollin - just huge to the front, Clancy nice but not reaching - a STF for Clancy that Mac came in and chased - Mac left a lot to be desired from that point on- not handling, chasing dinks and not going with them - showed us good leg early, showed us how young she was later. Clancy on the other hand never put it together - ending up w/3 distinctive stf on big covies and one on a single that I wouldn 't even shoot over - gave her the benefit of the doubt for awhile and then she just ticked me off. 45 min - stamina good - birdwork sucked - 40+chickens. Pal & Rita - Pal belligerent from the get go - just never with it and several confrontations w/Bonnie & Dennis just ended up w/him leaving the area and not found the rest of the day. Rita, the old girl just gets the job done although not a banner day for birdwork, 3 NP's - 1 v/good find on a single and some huge moves the first half- got kinda rank for awhile than hooked Dennis and got her back w/us - good hunt - moderate speed( v/good for her age) and plenty of stamina probably made her dog of the day. 47 min - 30+ chickens. Lightning & Flash II - Flash II didn't have one of her best runs w/2 nice honors , a mannerly find that lacked class on a covey of chick- ens and a shakey piece of work on quail - kinda of a squirrel at times but showing signs that she wants to please. Lightning had some in and out moments- a little handy at times, lateral at others w/strong edge moves at the end - her best wild bird work to date - a v/well located find on a pair of chickens - than a perfect find/stf - couldn't tell- on a big covey - long way away - good find on couple that we had seen covey leave and let her work- that a great find on a sharptail that Bonnie worked- wanted to leave as Bonnie worked - than hung herself on a single quail - pointed w/tons of class - and as I flushed she jumped over a log and stood - I went to pick her up and a single flushed - I put the harness on her and smiled - a good camp for that little girl - her best wild work to date. 49 min. - 40+ birds - chickens and sharps Back to camp than got to town & Bob got hooked up and loaded to go home w/some of the stuff- nice afternoon but camp is definitely winding down. I heard a very interesting comment from the peanut gallery the other day which I just now remembered: Alexandra was riding w/Alex every brace and the other day Alex was running Flash II for Karen- Alexandra informed her dad that day that she new what Kenny Ruff would do, he pull out that long rope and put the dog on it and she said that's what Alex should do -- RIGHT NOW-- guess the young ones are learning. Birdwork: Dusty - just getting the program down - let him point 2 and he's really trying to do it right, I actually reached in front of him and flushed the bird - worked a couple of stf - doing his thing and really trying to please. Dolly - put out a couple and got her working - 2 v/clean finds- not plugged in - just getting the program down. Kelsey - worked on 2 - good manners, decent style - took some to get pointed but handled well- we didn't want this too robotic and ended well. Brea - worked on a couple - trying to polish on control - learnign - great style - manners still need work. Bell - worked for awhile - got her to bump and chase single - nice young dog. Riley - 2 v/nice pieces of work, redeemed himself for some real weak birdwork in pens - tried to do bird pictures - made him real mad-- he looked good. Glory - worked her on 2 - so/so work - manners good - v/tentative w/good manners -- We called it a day - had a very quick dinner, fed dogs, quick showers and off to the Johnston Fair Grounds - and the rodeo - we got there late - but had a good time - saw the entire Painter clan and got home about 10:30 - just a nice day - Bob's heading home early. We're ready for one more day on the hills. September 5, 1999 - Sunday morning - we got Bob & Daniel loaded up and on their way. Good to have them in camp but one day just isn't enough. Saw the last half of the rodeo last night - had a real nice time. Alexandra is into barrel racing on the Painter pony - getting pretty good from what I hear. Hills: Clint & Mac - Clint started out slow - not really reaching but rather a short gd - Mac had more go and Alex had her plugged in - not allowing her to chase tweedy birds - Clint had a serious run at a jack rabbit and that seemed to pick him up - much stronger the 2nd half w/nice forward reaching moves - Mac's race is really coming together. - No birds for dogs - 4 chickens - 42 min. Roxie & Bill - Roxie's bark is her big weak point - but her race can be real good w/good speed and forward moves - Bill off the right edge to start w/good find early. Roxie around birds but nothing pointed - finally she ran through some birds of Bill's - no back and corrected- Bill good but all the hacking didn't help him - the rest of the race was worthless - lot's of stopping, almost pointing and just going through the motion for both dogs. 20+ birds - 36 min. yawn, yawn. Clancey W & Sunny - Sunny a better time on the hills than she's had with some decent moves - Clancey nice start a little too lateral but reaching - got into the high hills and some turtles - race going downhill( remembered why I keep him off the hills) - finally pointed and I saw a chicken on the ground - got off and they started to flush and he chased like a rank puppy - bonnie caught him and we put the hook on him - the only good part was that it got Sunny into the birds and she chased. 35 min. - 15+ chickens. Birdwork: Clancey W. - well he didn't change much -pointing a quail and then taking it out like a pup - him and I had a serious go around - he needed that - not a happy camper. Glory - worked the bird but not real good style - almost left - ended up ok. Clint - hit the bird nice but wanted to move - not his best time on birds. Roxie - planted, controlled birds just not her thing - backed up as I went to flush - corrected - she was ok for the flush. Dusty - not his banner day - didn't want me to move away from him- ended up positive but not what we were looking for. Bree- not her day at all - back to the drawing board for Dennis. Well, we got Alex, Alexandra & Karen all packed up and down the road to Omaha for the flights home. They sure had a fun camp, plenty of good dog work w/the young girls - Mac, Flash & Alexandra all having a really learning camp. Alexandra getting real good with the horses - and quite the barrell rider on the Painter pony. Riley ended up feeling real good & had some real good birdwork. Jill good early with being in season affecting the end of camp but this one has a real future ahead. Spent the afternoon packing up and getting things ready to go home - more stuff to do than you ever remember but everyone cleaned up their own stuff and that helps a lot. We went to Uncle Buc's with Dennis and Bonnie - had a real good dinner - they've really upgraded and we had a good time. Delton( the owner) plans on coming to camp tomorrow to work dogs with us. Hopefully we can show him some good ones. September 6, 1999 - Monday morning - our last run on the hills for the millenium ( Bonnie figured that out) - cool morning with Roger along and Delton showing up - we headed to the pasture s of triple gates w/two braces in tow. Hills: Lightning & Bree-Roger showed up 7 minutes late for this brace - we just weren't sure when he's was coming. Started out with good find by Lightning - as birds were leaving out in front - another point by her and Bree well ahead working and up came big bunch of birds - then loosing her over a little knoll by the water, seeing birds getting up in front of Bree w/Lightning standing for it - 12:00 on both ends - really pretty - STF for Lightning - good manners and another good find on hillside - Bree a turtle find toward the end - Lightning rather lateral and handy the 1st half with all the birds around and more reaching and driving the 2nd half - the great thing is Lightning : finding, pointing and handling wild birds with class-- Bree has got Dennis scratching his head. 30-40 chickens. Rita & Cali - out of the box w/Roger on hand - we let these two hit the hills - both reaching and down to business from the get/go w/Cali a stf and not wanting to do it wrong felt the pressure and sat down - Rita come by and pointed nicely as the whole covey left w/ one bird directly behind Cali - this added to the pressure she felt but she's just showing that she wants to do it right - could be her year- she looks good. Sent on we watched this pair reach and hunt- getting a little more lateral in big head wind w/Rita working a distant draw to the end then flowing front styled up on hillside - a long ride to the situation - bringing Cali with us and her backing w/a little help - flushed big bunch of sharptails all around - great piece of work - sent on Rita became turtle dog - the more I got mad the worse she got - probably picking up 10 or 15 - at one point chewing on 1 on a hilltop quarter mile away and making me ride to her and yell - plenty of conditioning here - these 2 down 51 or so minutes and still going at it - at least Cali blinked the turtles today so we finished on a positive note. 20+ birds.- sharptails in this pasture. Birdwork: Lina - worked on a couple w/good kill and perfect retrieves on 2- she's had a good camp. Star - beautiful find, did good on retrieve but didn't want to hand it over- still a nice job for her. showing much better forward pattern. Bree - still not wanting to be broke - Dennis is going to rebreak her. Back to camp, picking up our quail feed stations and getting things packed as we go. Linda had the last of our pizzas ready for lunch and Delton headed home - seemed to enjoy the dogs and really liked Star. Dusty - worked him on 2 thrown birds - than let him point 2 and he did a real good job today. Lots of progress but have to be patient with him - he's not ready to let you go ahead and flush but he sure letting the birds fly away w/style and standing tall for the shot. Back to camp and we got Bonnie and Dennis loaded up for the trip home. Made airline arrangements for Mojo( going to be hunting dog for Ron) and Roxie. Going to miss the boy- Mojo, he's just so good natured, I promised to send him some girlfriends for a visit or two. We need a few more of his pups around-- Rubitu, Cali, Kelsey & Lightning all really coming around this year and show some real talent--- It's fun to watch his pups shape up. Had a few birds left, we really had good success recalling birds the last couple of weeks - gave us plenty of birdwork. Got the pigeon pen going- it'll be interesting to see if we can keep the flock here over the winter. Devin's helping with that project. Camp really winding down now with Dennis and Bonnie hitting the road - Linda and I packed and picked up for the afternoon - than a peaceful quiet dinner. Busy day tomorrow - ready to leave 1st light on Wednesday. September 7. 1999 - Tuesday - beautiful clear dawn -w/venus in the e skys and a sliver of a moon right before dawn - just gorgeous.